Generally, the inventive technology relates to protecting vehicle tires from damage by ground debris. Specifically, the inventive technology involves methods and apparatus for displacing ground debris into positions that prevent vehicle tire damage. The inventive technology may be particularly suited to protecting farm equipment tires by flattening upright stalks from harvested crops into positions that cannot puncture or otherwise damage such tires.
Ground debris can pose a damage hazard to the tires of many types of vehicles. On roads, harmful ground debris may commonly be encountered in the form of sharp objects such as metal scraps, pieces of wood, and other objects having sharp, upright edges. However, ground debris in agricultural settings can be equally detrimental to vehicle tires. For example, modern techniques for harvesting fibrous crops such as corn, beans, and the like may leave ground debris in the form of stubble—hard, rigid stalks rising several inches from the ground in place of the harvested plants. Not only may this kind of ground debris pose an equal, if not greater, hazard to the tires of farm equipment as compared to road debris, but farm equipment tires may represent a substantial financial investment, often costing in the thousands of dollars. As a result, many conventional technologies may have been developed to protect tires from damage by ground debris, especially for agricultural applications. However, these conventional technologies frequently may have been beset by significant drawbacks.
For example, conventional technologies that form a barrier in front of vehicular tires to block ground debris often must be raised and lowered to and from their blocking position. This often requires power-assisted means, such as hydraulics, electronics, or the like, increasing the cost and complexity of such devices. Moreover, these devices usually must be raised from their blocking position if the vehicle is to travel over rough ground, such as when crossing a ditch or berm, perhaps decreasing the efficiency with which they may be utilized.
Conventional technologies also, for example, frequently may be very mechanically involved, perhaps operating through complex arrangements of interconnected and dependent parts. Such conventional technologies often may use one or more springs, rollers, chains, drag bars, or other such components, perhaps tending to result in expensive, complicated devices that may be large, unwieldy, or otherwise difficult to operate.
The foregoing problems regarding conventional tire protection techniques may represent a long-felt need for an effective solution to the same. While implementing elements may have been available, actual attempts to meet this need may have been lacking to some degree. This may have been due to a failure of those having ordinary skill in the art to fully appreciate or understand the nature of the problems and challenges involved. As a result of this lack of understanding, attempts to meet these long-felt needs may have failed to effectively solve one or more of the problems or challenges here identified. These attempts may even have led away from the technical directions taken by the present inventive technology and may even result in the achievements of the present inventive technology being considered to some degree an unexpected result of the approach taken.